Tosca

Given their background in sampling classical pieces, to say nothing of their name, it is fitting that Tosca's first full-length album would be called Opera. Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber's gorgeous sound features a combination of dub basslines, chilled downtempo grooves and hypnotic, echoing whispers, laced with brief vocal breaks used as quick stabs of melody and rhythm. The end result is sexy, seductive and sophisticated, and a huge departure from the morass of inferior "chill" compositions from lesser artists.